Should Formula one and other similar auto racing banned to save fossil fuels and minimize green house effect?

Question

Should Formula one and other similar auto racing banned to save fossil fuels and minimize green house effect?

Answer 1

YES

Answer 2

The carbon emissions from the racing itself are tiny.

By far the majority of the carbon emissions from a sporting event come from spectators traveling to the event.  So you'd also have to ban baseball, football, soccer, etc.

We don't need to make ourselves miserable to solve global warming.  Simple hard work and a reasonable amount of money will do the job.  See this for details:

http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM040507.pdf

But we all need to work together.  Picking on one group is a fine way to destroy that spirit.

Answer 3

Being an avid racing fan, there is no way that I'd ever endorse an idea to ban any manner of motorsport. The total number of racing machines currently in use is dwarfed by the existing mass of cars and trucks on todays highways; especially US highways. It is in the consumer area of transportation that fuel consumption must change. People "can" do small things to lessen the impact while alternatives are being developed. Drivers can stretch their fuel dollar by simply backing out of the pedal which means more miles per tank rather than having to refuel in order to travel the same distance while dumping more pollutants in the air. Drivers can take a more active role in the maintenance of their cars by keeping tires properly inflated, oil changed, and air filters clean to again improve mileage without adding additional somg to the air. Just these few and simple adjustments to our own behavior can pay big dividends so pass the word.

Answer 4

No, they should just change fuels. I think Formula 1 just switched to ethanol only vehicles. They had to change the cars a bit because they needed smaller gas tanks because ethanol is more efficient, but they still needed the same number of pit stops. They also had to recalibrate the weight, neat stuff.

They should lead when it comes to new fuels, lead by example.

Answer 5

Number of gallons of fossil fuels burned by the racers at yesterday's Indianapolis 500: 0.

Indy cars race on Ethanol.  The idea is not to ban, but to encourage the use of alternative fuels.  If the premier racing event in the world is burning corn instead of crude, it has a trickle down effect.  Smaller racing circuits will switch to ethanol.  Honda has had to develop a high-performance ethanol engine.  Over time, there will be technological break-throughs in ethanol-powered engines, which will eventually break into the realm of the gas-guzzling RV parked in the infield.

(It's amazing... if you are next to the track of an ethanol racing event, you seriously can breathe easily, and can not smell any gas smell that used to accompany the event.)

Answer 6

racing is just a small part of green house gases compared w/ everything else.

Answer 7

No. Racing has always been a source of automotive technology advancement. Who knows, formula one racing may develop an engine that could get 100 MPG. Anyway, there are about 100 million fewer race cars than regular cars, so their contribution to the world output of CO2 is so close to zero that it can be ignored.

Answer 8

Absolutely not!

1. Motorsports is where the most developments for making engines more environmentally friendly come from. By participating in or enjoying motorsports you are supporting the companies that are at the forefront of such developments.

2. The amount of fuel burned at motorsports events is totally insignificant. When compared to what the industry or regular traffic uses, or as mentioned in other answers also the spectators of ANY sporting event, it's really nothing.

3. The recreational burning of fossil fuels is one of the pillars of our civilization :)

Answer 9

No.  Actually racing is one of the ways new, good technolgy come about.

Answer 10

LOL! If it comes down to the fate of the earth or giving up entrtainment all I can tell you is you better have a burial plot son.Aint gonna happen.TOO MUCH MONEY is involved!

What about volcanic activity? The tilt of the earth ?weather cycles? Sun spots that also contribute to this? Then theres tha  harp project most people dont know about.Study up on it.Theres also been many inventions that would imrpove gas mileage to great heights on the 70's models cars but the oild companies have bought and silenced them all.The politicians(both parties) own stock in oil.Do YOU really think they want us to use less at the present prices?

Answer 11

They are using more Ethanol in racing-they actually lead the way.

Answer 12

I wouldnt ban it alltogether but i think formula one should be a breeding ground for new technology, have them race hydrogen hybrids that get a better fuel burn, efficiency and speed than a conventional car. why cant we enjoy the sport of racing while being socially and environmentally responsible. I think it is great that there is something so many americans enjoy but there is a responsible and environmentally friendly way to enjoy formula racing. i think the best place to test new technology would be on the formula one circuit. then maybe if americans see how well it works there they will employ the same kind of technology in their lives.

Answer 13

Maybe switch to electricity

Answer 14

nope

Answer 15

We don't need to ban the sports, but we do need to eliminate the spectators at the sporting sites.  How much energy would be saved by everyone watching it at home on their television.  The majority of the specators are not viewing it live anyway.

Answer 16

It should not be banned, they have already taken  step. They are running ethanol.

Answer 17

If you take this analogy, then all sports should be eliminated, because the athletes take planes and busses to play away games - and the amount of energy the NBA uses in a year dwarfs the amount used in Formula one racing.

BTW, many race vehicles run on more of an alcohol type blend, and have less impact to the environment than standard airplanes (who contribute alot to greenhouse effect, but someone never seem to get mentioned).

Answer 18

I think their share of the pollution problem is too small to have any significance but I definitely see a future where those cars also run on "green" fuel.